Wear a cycling helmet or 'let the wind blow in your hair'? Experts say...it's a no brainer

It would seem obvious: wearing a helmet while cycling will protect your head from injury should you fall off.

Not so, according to Norman Baker MP.

Last month the Junior Transport Minister – who is in charge of cycling policy in Britain – defended his decision not to wear a helmet, saying: ‘We encourage children to wear them but adults are capable of making up their own minds.’

Head count: A helmet-less Helena Bonham Carter and her children

He also cast doubt over whether helmets, which are filled with hard foam designed to absorb the shock of a head impact by distributing the force, made bicycle use on the road any safer at all.

‘I like to feel the wind in my hair,’ added Mr Baker, who is balding.

The comments caused uproar – with cycling organisations, brain injury charities and medics queuing up to correct the Minister.

There are more than ten million regular cyclists in Britain, yet figures suggest that only 16 per cent wear helmets.

‘We aren’t against helmets, but we believe their efficacy is limited and that wearing them may be counter-productive,’ says Roger Geffen, campaigns and policy director of CTC, the UK’s national cyclists’ association.

‘If you’re caught lightly on the side of the head you may simply sustain a graze,’ says Geffen.

‘If you are wearing a helmet, your whole head could be spun round. Spine and neck injuries may also be very serious.’

Despite this, TRL’s 2009 report found no evidence to suggest that wearing a helmet increased risk of rotational head injury.

Some studies have suggested that people will be put off cycling if forced to wear helmets.

‘Long term there are going to be a lot more people dying from obesity-related conditions if you effectively discourage such exercise,’ points out Geffen.

A poll of 4,000 people was conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists last month.

Ten per cent said they’d give up cycling if helmets became law.

One thing most experts agree on is that cyclists should seek out properly fitting, well-made protection.

‘Always look for the European standard mark EN 1078, or EN 1080 for younger children,’ says Dr Bryan Chinn, director of a helmet and head injury consultancy.

Dr Chinn also stresses the importance that the helmet fits.

‘In the event of impact, you don’t want it to move at all,’ he says.

He also recommends that you do up the chin straps as tightly as possible and use a helmet covering the temples.

The last Which? report about cycle helmets, in 2005, did suggest that some helmets are superior.

Some of the top-rated brands – Canyon, Giro, Trek and Specialized – are all widely available in the UK.

There is no law that dictates cyclists must wear a helmet, so it remains your choice.

But brain injury association Headway spokesman Luke Griggs offers a final thought: ‘A number of Headway members sustained their injuries through cycling accidents.

'They are now spending the rest of their lives wishing they’d chosen to wear a helmet.’